Fuqua School’s varsity softball team had representation among the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Division III all-state accolades that was fittingly worthy of the state champion.

Lady Falcons junior Regan Ware was named the VISAA Division III state softball Player of the Year, and Fuqua Head Coach Mike Ford was named Coach of the Year.

Ware was joined on the all-state first team by three teammates — junior Madelyn Bickford, sophomore Carmen Reynolds and junior Hannah-Gray Schmidt.

Making the all-state second team were Fuqua junior Virginia Haney and senior Alexa Marzloff.

Ford said he was overall pleased with the recognition the Lady Falcons received.

They finished the year with a 16-5 record, including their undefeated run in the state tournament in which they outscored their opponents 41-4 across three games.

Referring to his Coach of the Year honor, Ford said, “I got that because I happen to coach some pretty good players. I’m, of course, grateful for it, but I’m more happy for the girls and the school.”

While the state tourney seemed to lack difficulty, Fuqua was well-prepared for it by virtue of a difficult regular season.

“I think, by far, we had the toughest schedule in the state of Virginia for private schools,” Ford said. “I mean at all levels, I think. And a lot of that is because we’re not in a conference.”

He said he thinks the most challenging aspect of coaching the team this year was “keeping everybody focused. It wasn’t easy a lot of times. We played one good team after another good team. It’s hard to kind of sit back and catch your breath sometimes like that. … The hardest thing is trying to keep everybody moving forward and getting better, and I feel they did.”

Ware had special reason to be excited about her Player of the Year honor.

“I tore my ACL this last fall, and so being able to come back and get Player of the Year, it means so much to me, because I was worried I wasn’t going to come back (at) hundred percent, and this kind of proves to me that I did,” she said. “So, it’s really special.”

Ware led Fuqua in the circle where she earned a 14-5 record. Out of 1,842 pitches thrown across 127.67 innings, she threw 1,334 strikes, 508 balls and 156 strikeouts. She had a 1.40 earned run average.

On offense, she had the second-highest batting average on the team at .386. In 70 at-bats, she had 27 hits, including three home runs, and 14 RBIs.

“I thought it would have been a huge injustice if she was not the Player of the Year,” Ford said. “I felt she should have been Player of the Year last year. I just think with her pitching, and she can hit, she can run, she can field — I think she’s the most dominant player in our division.”

The coach said he could play her anywhere on the field with little difficulty in adjustment because she is a great athlete.

“I’ll tell you what else — she works hard,” Ford said. “The girl works her butt off. She’s got great focus on what she needs to be doing. She’s got a huge upside. I think some college is going to do good to get her.”

Among Fuqua’s other first-team honorees, Reynolds led the Lady Falcons with a .458 batting average and a .764 slugging percentage. Across 72 at-bats, she also led the team with 33 hits and 25 RBIs. She had a team-high nine doubles and tied for the team-high with three home runs. She also scored 18 runs.

Bickford had a .323 batting average. Across 62 at-bats, she had 20 hits, including seven doubles. She also recorded 19 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.

Schmidt produced a .313 batting average. Across 67 at-bats, she registered 21 hits and 12 RBIs. She also scored 10 runs.